Engaged couples spend an enormous amount of time planning their weddings, study finds

Planning the average wedding takes around 528 hours, according to a survey of 2000 Americans.
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A modern wedding now takes an incredible 528 hours — or 22 full days — of planning, from engagement to the big day, according to new data.

A study looking into the wedding planning habits and behaviors of 2,000 Americans who have had a wedding in the last year uncovered the most time-consuming parts of the entire wedding planning process, and found that the average engaged person spends 12 hours a week planning their wedding.

The average engaged American will find themselves in wedding planning mode over the course of 11 months, or 44 weeks, logging 528 hours of planning from engagement to the big day.

It turns out that finding the perfect venue came in as the top time-consuming activity, with a quarter of those surveyed admitting that this was the most challenging and tedious part of the process.

Deciding whether or not to spring on the chiavari chairs was probably quite difficult, too.
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The study, by Minted, looked into the wedding planning journey, found that hunting for the perfect wedding dress, deciding who will be in the wedding party, and arranging the catering also ranked high among the most time-consuming elements of any wedding planning process.

Planning a wedding is no easy feat. Many engaged couples were excited and happy (68 percent and 53 percent, respectively) while planning their big day, while some experienced more stressful emotions during their planning. And for many, planning a wedding can be overwhelming at least at times: The average couple studied said they had four disagreements along the way, and even a few tears.

What are the wedding elements couples are prone to disagree about? For a quarter of those surveyed (25 percent) finding the right venue was a source of contention. Eighteen percent of engaged couples also clashed about arranging the catering, another 19 percent disagreed over who would be in the wedding party.

But not all clashed during the wedding planning process. Turns out nearly a quarter (23 percent) had zero disagreements with their partner as they planned their big day. And Minted found that selecting "Save the Date" cards, and picking the flower girl and ring bearer, were wedding chores that partners often agree on.

For the majority of those studied (94 percent), having the help of their partner made the whole thing a lot easier and more enjoyable. A whopping 46 percent wouldn’t change a thing about their special day.In fact, 84 percent agreed that their partner’s input in the wedding planning process was helpful — with 78 percent revealing their partner wanted to provide input.

Hunting for a wedding dress was one of the most time-consuming activities, the study found.
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“We know that coming together to celebrate such an important milestone, like a wedding, is equally rewarding and time-consuming. However, creating meaningful moments, complete with personal touches and intimate elements, is what makes a couple’s big day so special.” says a spokesperson for Minted Weddings.

And it turns out the wedding planning process can be a good exercise for couples to see how they get along in stressful situations. For 83 percent of those studied, it was easy to agree with their partner, making the wedding planning journey a lot more manageable.

That doesn’t mean that wedding planning doesn’t come without its share of stressors, even if both people are getting along and agreeing on key elements of the big day. Eighteen percent stressed about pleasing their in-laws while a further 17 percent of women worried about finding the perfect wedding dress for their big day.

Although the majority of recently married couples were happy and excited while wedding planning, there were some things that people would change about their big day. The top items wedding couples would do differently were choice of photographer, venue, and wedding planner.